The State government is yet to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Centre, but a storm of sorts seems to be brewing over nationalization of rivers. The Congress and Goa Forward have fired warning shots and an attempt is underway to turn it into an issue for the forthcoming elections. As is always the case, the less people know about the issue; the less information there is in the public domain, easier it is to turn an issue into an election campaign. Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar has gone on record to say that all stakeholders will be taken into confidence before an MoU is signed with the Centre. In Goa that could be an endless exercise.
Goa’s rivers form part of a Central plan to nationalize 106 rivers in order to optimize use for transportation. The Allahabad“Haldia stretch of the Ganges“Bhagirathi“Hooghly river system was the first to be nationalized in 1986 and since then five more river systems were added. In 2008, a total river-canal stretch of 588 km covering parts of Odisha and West Bengal were declared as national waterway 5. In June 2014, a Rs 2,000 crore plan was launched for development of this river stretch. The Centre’s plan is to maximize use of rivers for transportation in order to reduce the burden on land-based transportation. The total cargo moved by inland waterways in 2013-14 was around 18 million tonnes. This figure was as high as 74.2 million tonnes in 2010-11, thanks to iron ore movement from the jetties to the port in Goa.
The State has successfully used and will continue to use its rivers to transport iron ore, sand and other minerals. The question that arises is, how will nationalization of rivers benefit the State? Will Goa lose control over movement of ships, barges, ferries and fishing vessels in the rivers? All this will be clear once the MoU is signed, but statements emanating from the government indicate that the State will retain control over rivers but only pass on the burden of development works to the Centre, which means all tenders for dredging and other development works will now be floated by the Inland Waterways Authority of India.
If the arrangement between the State and the Centre is similar to the one that governs national highways, then there is no need for beating the drums of protest. Goans freely use the NH17 and NH4A and NH17B even though these highways are controlled by the National Highway Authority of India. Nationalisation of waterways could be similar with Goans enjoying free movement in the rivers with the Centre bearing the cost of development. Hence, there is need for greater application of mind or Goa could miss a golden opportunity. However, the terms and conditions in the MoU need to be carefully whetted and made public before the State government inks an agreement.
